Arne Slot handed unexpected role… while waiting to replace De Zerbi at Tottenham?

Former Liverpool boss Arne Slot has landed a new role in football, exactly four months after his ruthless sacking by the English club.

The Dutch manager was dismissed at the end of the 2025-26 season, having finished only fifth in the Premier League. Long linked with a job in charge of the Netherlands national team or as head coach of Tottenham, he has remained out of work until now.

Arne Slot’s new role at UEFA

The former Liverpool and Feyenoord manager has been officially appointed to UEFA’s prestigious technical observer group for the 2026-27 season.

His job will be to follow matches in detail and analyse them from a coach’s perspective. UEFA’s representatives are also responsible for choosing the player of the match for each Champions League matchday. The group also consults and assesses performances when selecting the team of the season and the goal of the season.

‘During each match, our designated technical observer works closely with the performance analysis team to gather the necessary video and data. Our experts receive footage from many different angles. All the content gathered is stored in an educational database.

The data includes everything from the number of passes and shots to figures on distance covered and line-breaking’ - the official statement reads.

Slot in good company among the panel of experts

Slot is not the only well-known name in the role, however. Former Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag and Rafael Benitez have also been given the position. Norwegian icon and former boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer explained his role last year.

‘My role is to travel a lot to the matches themselves and closely analyse the technical quality and the overall tactical approach. Alongside that, I am also in charge of choosing the player of the match. For me, it is a really great way of watching the top teams closely and keeping up with trends’ - Solskjaer said.

The Champions League returns this week, and the organisation has revealed the list of its 36 technical observers. In this star-studded group, as well as Slot, Ten Hag, Benitez and Solskjaer, there are other big names from the dugout and the pitch alike.

The role will be filled by Roberto Martinez, Thomas Frank, Rudi Garcia, Gaizka Mendieta, Kasper Hjulmand, Ernesto Valverde, Frank de Boer, Rui Faria, Sean Dyche, Aitor Karanka, Avram Grant and Roy Hodgson.

Gareth Southgate, Ange Postecoglou, Justin Cochrane, David Adams, Ian Woan, Mixu Paatelainen, Michael O’Neill, Kieran McKenna, Claude Makelele, Zlatko Zahovic, Steve Cooper, Willi Ruttensteiner, Dusan Fitzel, Darren Fletcher, David James, Frans Hoek, Zlatko Dalic, Fatih Terim, Ryan Giggs and Ralph Hasenhuttl complete the panel of experts.